Thill-coupling.



G. T. HAMBRIGK & E. B. PETERS.

THILL COUPLING.

APPLxoATIoN FILED 11017.15, 1912.

Patented June 24, 1913.

Wil/Inmo NTTED STATES PATENT oEEroE.

GEORGE T. HAMBRICK AND EMIL B. PETERS, OF GEORGETOWN, KENTUCKY.

THILL-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

erApplication filedNovember 15,1912.

Patented June 24, 19,13.

ySerial No. 731,544.

-To 1eil/whom Mn/ay concer/n Be it known that we, GEORGE T. HAM- vBRIcK and EMrLB. SPETERS, citizens of the' 'United States, residing atvGeorgetown, in f the county of' Scott and State of fKentucky, *have invented certain new-and useful ImlproVernents in Phill-Couplers; and We do hereby declare the following to bea full,

clear, @andffexact description of the invention,

such as will venable others skilled in the art fto Awhich itappertains to makeand use the same.

Our invention relates to' thill couplers and the prime object of our invention, is to provide a reliably efiicient means for connecting Ithe tongue or shaft to the axle of a vehicle,

"constructed and'l'readily assembled in their respective` positions.

Withr these-objects in view, the invention consists in 'the improved construction, arrangement and combination ofthe parts of a thill coupling which will be-hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically claimed.

In order that the construction and opera tion thereof may be readily comprehended, we will now proceed to fully describe the invention, in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate it in a preferred form, and' in which drawingsq Figure 1 represents a view in side elevation of our invention complete, as applied to use, Fig. 2 a perspective detail View of the body portion of our coupler, Fig. 3 the connecting terminal of the shaft or tongue, and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 perspective detail views of the detent, the spring and the latch member of our improved coupler.

The same reference numerals are applied to the corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings 1, indicates the body portion of the coupling the rear part whereof is provided with apertures to receive the usual form of clip 2, which embraces the axle 3 and the usual wooden member 4 resting on the axle, the said clip 2 having the usual threaded terminals 5 and the retaining nuts 6.

The threaded terminals 5 are extended through the apertures 7 in the rear end of the body portion 1, While upon the forward bolt o-r pin 11 passing through acurved slotted aperture 12, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. A correspondingly located aperture 123L is formed in the body rportion to receive the pin 11. The forward end of the detent 10 is provided with .a cross head 13, the upper edge of which rests against the lower edge of the body portion, as shown in Fig. 1, and the rear end with a cross head 13a, which engages in notches 13b in the body portion. The said detent is also provided with` the shoulder or offset 14 and is held normally upward within the slot 9 by any suitable form ofspring, preferably by that form shown in Fig.q6,vand consisting of the body portion 15 having the aperturesA 16designed to register with lthe aperturesv 7 `in the body portion and receive the threaded terminals 5 of the clip 2` by means of which the vsaid spring is held inits operative position. The

` forward end ofthe spring is provided .with

a special form of seat, formed by the ears 17 and between said ears the forward portion of the detent 10 is designed to rest, thereby assuring that the said detent will bel held normally in a substantially horizontal plane.

The end of the shaft or tongue coperating with the hook members 8 is provided with a stirrup-like terminal comprising the side members 18 and the cross bar 19, and designed to coperate with the cross bar 19 is a pivoted latch member 2O operatively mounted in the upper end of the hook members 8, as by the rivet o-r bolt 21, the lower end of the latch member being left free to swing ldownward between the said hook member and in coperation with the shoulder 14 of the detent 10. A bearing 22 is formed in the latch member 20 and a slotted opening or way 23 is formed in the lower end of said latch member leading out from the bearing 22 whereby when said latch member is swung rearward and upward upon its pivot 21, the cross bar 19 may be readily entered in the slotted opening so that it will reach and rest within the bearing proper 22 in its operative position.

As may be Seen by reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the detent 10 may be caused to move downward at its forward end pressing the cross head 13 down, the cross head 13a serving as a fulcrum, the slotted aperture 1'2 being curved 0n an arc having said fulcrum as a center. The shoulder 14C will thus be moved downward entirely out of the path of the upward swing of the lower end of the latch member 20, thereby bringing said slotted opening 23 into position to readily receive or discharge the cross bar 19.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that we have provided a very simple, strong form of thill coupling of which the parts may be very quickly assembled and as readily disconnected and which may be cheaply and expeditiously manufactured of any desirable material deemed suitable for the purpose and of all the varying sizes required.

When tlie lower end of the latch member Q0 is swung downward in its operative position it will be clear that the shoulder 14 of the detent 10, held up by the spring 15, will prevent said latch member from casually moving out of its adjusted position.

It is obvious that the stronger the pull placed upon the shaft or tongue, the more .secure will be its cooperation with the hook members 8.

While we have speciiically described the construction of the various parts, we desire it to be understood that changes may be made therein, without departing from the spirit. and scope of the invention, as hereinafter claimed.

What we claim as new is:

1. A thill coupling comprising a thill iron having a cross bar, a body portion provided with parallel hook terminals spaced apart, a latch member pivotally supported between said hook terminals having a bearing opening and an open slot leading therefrom to receive the cross bar of the thill iron, a detent pivotally mounted in the space between the lower edges of said terminals and having a shoulder to engage the latch member, and a spring bearing on the detent to maintain said engagement.

2. A thill coupling comprising a thill iron having a cross bar, a body portion provided with parallel hook terminals spaced apart and having notches in their bottom edges and transverse pin openings, a latch pivoted between the hook terminals provided with a transverse opening and laterally projecting bearings to tit in the hooks of the terminals and having 4a slot leading outwardly from the transverse opening to receive the cross bar, a detent between the hook terminals having a curved slot, a forward cross head bearing under the terminals, a rear cross head bearing in the notches of the terminals and a shoulder to engage behind the latch member, a pin passing through the pin opening in the terminals and the curved slot in the det-ent, and a spring bearing under the detent and maintaining the shoulder in engagement with the latch member and the rear cross head in the notches in the bottom edges of the terminals.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE T. HAMBRICK. EMIL B. PETERS. Witnesses:

J. R. DENNING, J. WILLIE HALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

